TB?

[Lidaa]

Hi my husband is a Navy flyer that spent six months in Asia. A week before his return he was in Japan and was thought to have been bitten by a Brown Recluse Spider, he had a blister on his wrist and developed a fever joint swelling and the bottom of one foot swelled. He was given four days of antibiotics and the symptoms subsided. He returned and within two days got a very bad cold, which I got four days latter, while coughing he felt a big pain in his back. The Doctor said pulled muscle or dislocated rib. After 30 days the pain was worse so an X-ray, bone scan and mri was done. They found inflammation at T-8 , T-9 and the disk. All blood work is good and two biopsies have cultured nothing. The Doctors feel that it is TB but had negative PPD and can not get it to grow in culture and feel it has nothing to do with the spider bite or the cold. 5 months have gone by with no diagnoses or treatment. Subsequent mri’s have shown very little movement in the inflammation. Today I started getting very bad pain in my back and have scheduled an appointment for myself.
Could he have had active TB and given it to me and both went to the spine? Can you have inflammation for no reason? Does this sound like anything else to anyone?

[CCF-Neuro-M.D.-CS]

Only 6% of patients with TB outside of the lungs have spinal involvement. Therefore, it is unlikely that both of you would have spinal TB. However, have you or your husband received treated for possible TB exposure? There is typically a reason for inflammation. Other causes include bony degeneration, and other infections. If you are having back pain, having it evaluated is reasonable. Sorry I could not provide more information. Good luck.